Introspection on this rainy day!

 

I’m feeling splendid, even though the rain is BEATING DOWN on my house right now, preventing me from venturing out to Costco. (Maybe I should be thanking the rain! Costco is not that much fun. But neither is being out of lunchbox snacks and salad greens.) I’m feeling pretty marvelous because it seems like a lot of things in my little world are coming together. I think this calls for a bulleted list!

• I may have found a church home for us where they’ll welcome Pablo with open arms. We tried a place on Sunday and the kids loved it. Pablo had one tiny issue, but the teacher there seemed positive that he could succeed and really enjoy being there with some precautions put into place. I’m optimistic that things may actually work out where this is concerned. I always crave more order and structure for my children, particularly for Pablo, and I think Sunday school would benefit all of them tremendously. Also, I think the whole, “We are all God’s children, and everyone is special and wonderful” atmosphere of, y’know, CHURCH, will be a good thing. Pablo’s had to deal with so much unkindness from people due to his disability, which SUCKS ASS. I’ve got my fingers crossed that this might be a really good thing.
• I’ve gotten back in touch with a friend of mine on Facebook who was a huge, major part of my life for many years. We “survived” small town life together, moved up to Denver together, and leaned on each other for years before going off and living our lives. I hadn’t seen or spoken to him for TEN YEARS until last week, and now we’ve been spending lots of time catching up. It makes me sad that we were absent from each other’s lives for so long, but I’m thrilled to be catching up now, and each time we have a little chat on Facebook, it brightens my whole day. There’s absolutely nothing like old friends, who have seen you at your best and worst, and who  knew you when you were going through puberty! Love. It.
• My husband and I are moving forward with major improvements to our house! It’s gorgeous as it is, but we’re really trying to make it our own. On the horizon: building a custom bed for the kids, additional built-in storage in the basement for our plethora of toys and games, and…::drumroll:: extending our DECK and putting a roof on it so we can spend more time enjoying our amazing backyard! I’m so grateful to have married that crazy enginerd, who meticulously designs things, agonizing over every minute detail that no one else would even notice. It’s going to be cool.
• Pablo is doing fantastic! We started a fish oil regimen a few weeks ago, and I really think it’s benefiting him. He’s all but stopped hitting himself, and the vocal tics have dropped off completely. We’ve had a few minor issues, but we’re starting to realize (duh) that Pablo is growing and maturing, and wants more than anything to just be a regular kid. It seems like whenever we have a huge blowup or tantrum, it’s because the kids around him are doing something he wants to do. Like line up and walk into school without having his aide grab him by the hand. Little things. He’s really blossoming, and we’re really enjoying him. Those weeks of hell always seem to result in big breakthroughs for him!
• Although I haven’t addressed it here or anywhere online, Kayley has been dealing with a huge healthl issue which has really affected her. I’ve been worried to death about her. A few days ago, we finally figured out the problem, and we’re on our way to a solution. She is positive and happy and optimistic that it’s all going to work out fine. She has been such a big, brave girl and I am just SO proud of her right now. Things aren’t 100% rosy, but where this area is concerned, it’s all good. 

And, it’s JUNE! How can it be June? It’s 55 degrees outside. I packed up all the winter clothes last week! We’re ready for summer weather, pretty please. The kids are graduating from kindergarten on the 18th and we’d like to eventually visit the beautiful pool in our neighborhood. So, get your act together, Mother Nature!

Anything to reduce the noise level around here!

Hey, check this out. Yesterday, UPS dropped off an overnight air envelope on my doorstep. Not for me, but for the previous owner of the house. I figured whatever it was, he probably would want it, so Paul gave him a call, and they agreed to stop by and get it. After Idol! Hehe! Before we called, we debated as to whether or not they’d be watching American Idol. I said no. Paul reminded me that they’re “old” (like my parents’ age) and older folks always seem to really get into those shows. So when they said they’d stop by after the show, we really cracked up! YES, BABE. YOU WERE RIGHT. YOU CALLED IT.

Anyway. So they stopped by and got their mail, and we convinced them to stay and talk to us for five minutes, which turned into an hour. They told us ALL KINDS OF STUFF about our house that we’ve been wondering about, including how to turn off the damned alarm! For five straight months, we’ve been listening to the house alarm beep loudly for 45 seconds every time the front door opens. We couldn’t disarm it without the code, but now that we have it…BLISS! Now when we open the front door, it just goes, “Bee-beep.” Just a nice little beep. Not that intrusive, endless beeping we’ve been tortured by since December! Awesome.

They also told us they left a huge folder in the kitchen drawer with all the home warranties, information about the permits they pulled when they did work on the house, and all the paperwork from the builder – and we never got it! Isn’t that bizarre? Who would toss that out? I’m not sure who to bitch at. I’m guessing a cleaning company came through and cleaned a bunch of stuff out, because this house was EMPTY when we closed on it. The old owners told us they left five gallons of paint in the storage closet for touchups, lots of replacement fence pickets, a skimmer for the pond, the remote that operates the blinds that are way up high, and the key to the gate – and none of that stuff was here. Who would even WANT that crap? Did it just get thrown out? It’s annoying to me.

But I don’t even care about any of it, since we finally have the alarm shut off! Yay! Now, if you come visit me, it won’t feel like you’re breaking in.

Spring Cleaning! (Sucks!)

Well. We’ve lived here FOUR MONTHS already, so I guess it’s time I organized the playroom. Coincidentally, there’s a community-wide garage sale occurring on Friday and Saturday, so it’s the perfect time for me to pare down our toy inventory by a good two-thirds or so.

I think the kids are happy and excited about being able to play with the toys they actually LIKE. Their dollhouse was finally dragged out of its box, but we haven’t found the people or the furniture yet. It’s kind of pitiful, seeing random homeless McDonald’s Happy Meal toys squatting there. Like the cheap, non bendy-legged Polly Pocket dolls and random action figures. They’re on their way OUT, though, poor little crappy toys.

Yesterday, I painted one wall of the playroom green. For some reason, the previous owners of this house seemed to be really into that whole “accent wall” method of painting. Every room is painted, but just one or two walls, and the rest has been left standard builder’s white. It’s okay, though. I’ve followed this method with my own decorating, and it makes painting a room much faster, I’ve noticed! I also purchased and assembled one of those ClosetMaid cube storage unit thingies that utilizes colorful canvas “drawers” for toy storage. I managed to get it assembled yesterday, but not without smashing my favorite middle finger with a hammer. Ow! I did the Peter Griffin sharp inhale, cry in pain thing for like five minutes. I hate home improvement.

And today, I think I’m going to run out to Target and buy one more unit, because the one just doesn’t seem like it’s going to provide enough storage for all of our crap. Hopefully I’ll have some pictures for you soon! Pray for me. The amount of stuff crammed into that room is completely overwhelming to me!

I feel a change a’coming!

Y’ever get a wild hair up your ass to take everything out of your kids’ playroom and dump it in the hallway, and then paint the walls lime green and buy modular storage and do a whole little While-You-Were-Out type of thing while your husband is at his brother’s house, helping lay out a brick patio?

Me either. Well, I do, but I try hard to suppress the urge, because it always turns out to be ten thousand times more work than I thought it was going to be. Still, I have a feeling things are about to be shaken up at the Casa de Chaos.

Shouldn’t I be losing my mind right about now?

Well. Here we are. Friday! A week ago at this time, Mallory was being diagnosed with pneumonia, Pablo was in the middle of a bad spell with his reactive airway disease, and the little girls were coughing like a pair of barking seals. And little did we know that day, that in just another twelve hours, we’d be rushing Pablo to the ER because of major abdominal distress. Our house was like a sick ward, with the smell of Vicks Vaporub hanging thickly in the air, the constant hum of the humidifier, and that loud ass nebulizer buzzing away every four hours, right on schedule.

Contrast that with today! The kids are using the toybox lid as a sled, and sliding down the entire flight of stairs to the basement. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and my little barrel of monkeys finally seems to feel better. It’s about fucking time, that’s all I have to say about that. I’m not certain we’re completely in the clear, as Pablo was just running a fever yesterday – but we’re 180 degrees from where we were a week ago.

We’re midway through the big kids’ track off from school. They got out on March 26th, and they don’t go back until April 20th. That’s three long weeks to spend at home with mom, and the last time they tracked off from school, I damned near lost my MIND! Of course, they were off for FIVE weeks that time, and it was right as we were moving into our new house. This time seems to be going a little better, in spite of the fact that we’re living in the quarantine house.

I fully expected to be clawing at the walls by now, after the seemingly endless snow and cold wind we had that first week, and the whiny sicko children this whole second week. But here we are. Just one week to go, and I’m already feeling sad about them going BACK to school! What? What’s going on here? Shouldn’t I be doing pirouettes around the living room at the very idea of restoring a small amount of order to my house? I’m not at all! I’m really ENJOYING having my kids all home, watching them make up little games and stories, doing art projects, destroying my house.

I’ve only got one week left with them! We need to really make next week COUNT! We’ve got to make our museum trip! We need to plant flowers! We need to ride our bikes to the park! We need to go get haircuts and eat sushi and buy new shoes! And we need to do it SOON, before we start wearing on each other’s nerves!

We’ll see what tune I’m singing NEXT Friday, when they’re heading back to school after the weekend!

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